House Bill Would Block EPA From Vetoing Dredge And Fill Permits Issued By Army Corps Of Engineers: On March 3, 2015, West Virginia’s entire House of Representatives delegation re-introduced a bill that is intended “to stop the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s unprecedented overreach,” according to the bill’s sponsor, David McKinley (R-WV). The bill (H.R. 1203) would amend the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority to revoke...
The resurgence of chemical production derived from renewable feedstocks reflects the new business imperatives of which chemical product manufacturers are all keenly aware: produce greener chemicals and reduce carbon footprints. Careful review of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), a law enacted almost forty years ago during the heyday of petroleum-derived chemical production, suggests that more can be done now to promote the commercialization of renewable chemicals to achieve these...
April 2, 2015
ECHA Publishes List Of Pending Article 95 Applications and Other Recent BPR Developments
ECHA Publishes List Of Pending Article 95 Applications:The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced in a March 31, 2015 press release, that to increase transparency ahead of the September 1, 2015, deadline for the compliance with Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR) Article 95, it has published a list of all pending Article 95 applications. The list contains applications for which the ECHA has not yet taken a decision, and ECHA will update it regularly. ECHA will synchronize its...
In the March 30, 2015 BNA Daily Environment Report Special Report “Questions About Fees, Hiring Staff Among Issues Raised by TSCA Reform Bills,” a reporter spoke with James V. Aidala , Senior Government Consultant with B&C and former Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances (OPPTS) (now the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention). To secure money from the fees, the EPA’s chemicals office will...
March 30, 2015
Lynn L. Bergeson, “USDA NOP Releases New Policy Memo on Nanotechnology,” Nanotechnology Now, March 30, 2015.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Organic Program (NOP) issued on March 24, 2015, a policy memorandum clarifying the status of nanotechnology in organic production and handling under the USDA organic regulations....
Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and its affiliate organizations are investigating the possibility of hosting a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Sustainable Futures workshop on the West Coast in late 2015. As you may know, Sustainable Futures training focuses on a variety of tools, methods, and models that can be used to assess the hazard and potential exposure of chemicals. The intensive, hands-on training provided at Sustainable Futures workshops allows...
March 27, 2015
Inside EPA Features B&C Commentary in Article “EPA Critics Cite High Court ‘Deference’ Statements To Oppose Major Rules”
The March 27, 2015 issue of Inside EPA featured commentary from B&C in an article reporting on the perceived increasing divide on the Supreme Court about the level of deference to give EPA and other agencies in their statutory and regulatory powers, and the use of the justices’ recent statements by plaintiffs and others to argue for stricter judicial oversight of EPA rules. Meanwhile, a March 16 blog post by the law firm Bergeson & Campbell says even the...
March 26, 2015
Lynn L. Bergeson Quoted in BNA Daily Environment Report Article on Nanoscale Chemicals Rule
In a March 26, 2015 story on EPA’s proposed rule regarding reporting requirements for companies that make or process nanoengineered chemicals, “Chemical Manufacturers, Processors To Report Basic Data Under EPA Proposal,” Lynn L. Bergeson was quoted. In a break from previous data-collection rules, the proposed rule would apply to both chemical manufacturers and chemical processors, Lynn Bergeson, managing partner of Bergeson & Campbell P.C., told Bloomberg BNA in a March...
March 25, 2015
Lynn L. Bergeson, “EPA Issues Response to ICTA Petition Regarding Nanosilver,” Nanotechnology Now, March 25, 2015.
Almost seven years ago, the International Center for Technology Assessment (ICTA) filed a petition for rulemaking requesting that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulate products containing nanosilver as pesticides and for related other forms of relief. On March 19, 2015, EPA responded to the petition....
March 24, 2015
Lynn L. Bergeson, “French Agency Publishes Opinion on Silver Nano Particles,” Nanotechnology Now, March 24, 2015.
The French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) published on March 10, 2015, an Opinion concerning exposure to silver nanoparticles that “stresses the research that has been carried out to examine the potential health and environmental effects of silver nanoparticles but notes that this is still insufficient to allow the health risks to be assessed.”...